1. Field
Embodiments relate a mechanism for terminating relay operations in a distributed switch with cascaded configuration.
2. Background
Various components in computer systems, such as storage components, may be connected together using a Fibre Channel protocol, a gigabit speed data transfer technology used in a variety of settings including storage systems. Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is a technology used for transporting Fiber Channel (FC) frames over Ethernet. FCoE standards for industry have been developed and distributed by the Technical Committee for Fiber Channel of the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS).
A proposed INCITS standard “FIBRE CHANNEL SWITCH FABRIC-6” (FC-SW-6) describes the requirements for an interconnecting Fabric comprising multiple Fabric Switch elements. Further details of FC-SW-6 may be found in the Internet based publication “http://www.t11.org/ftp/t11/pub/fc/sw-6/13-047v0.pdf” entitled “FIBRE CHANNEL SWITCH FABRIC-6,” published Feb. 1, 2013, by the American National Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10036. The version of FC-SW6 published on Feb. 1, 2013 is referred to as the “current FC-SW-6 proposed standard dated Feb. 1, 2013” for the purposes of this disclosure.
An FC Data-Plane Forwarder (FCDF) is a simplified FC switching entity that forwards FC frames among certain ports through a FCDF Switching Element. A distributed switch may comprise a set of FCDFs associated with at least one controlling switch, where the controlling switch controls the operations of the set of FCDFs. Certain distributed switches may be implemented in a ECoE or in a FC environment.